A New Anchor
by diaryofsandra
Summary: Marin Morrell, the runt of her pack has recently been exiled. She unknowingly crosses over into Hale Pack territory and the Alpha, Derek Hale, isn't too happy about it. Future-fic. Pack-centric.
1. New Beginnings

**Summary: **Marin Morrell, the runt of her pack has recently been exiled. She unknowingly crosses over into Hale Pack territory and the new Alpha, Derek Hale, isn't too happy about it. AU.

**~ Introduction: New Beginnings ~**

I pay attention to every motion, every movement, my eyes locked on them. The biggest wolf shoots off, headed straight for me. I turn and in one movement break out into a sprint, the claws on my feet leaving deep imprints in the dirt. I can hear the rest of the pack snarling behind me. I see the stocky male gaining on me out of the corner of my eye. His own feet thud against the forest floor, leaving their own imprints. I can feel the hairs on the back of my neck rising nad I quickly gather from both his size and speed that he is the Alpha.

Despite being one of the fastest out of my old pack, I realize that I won't be able to outrun him. Deciding now is the time to my training to good use, I make the decision to zag to the left. Ducking under a branch and hopping over another I hope that my quick thinking will make up for his speed. I glance behind me just in time to see him stumble for a bit before regaining his footing. It doesn't stall him for as long as I had hoped but it gives me a few more seconds than I had before. Concentrating solely on running, I try to focus on only myself and the scenery. He shouts what I assume to be orders out to his betas and five more sets of pounding footsteps join ours.

In a matter of minutes they have caught up with us. A curly haired male beta is running slightly behind us on the left and I don't have to look to realize that another beta is doing the same on the right. It takes a few seconds for me to realize they are trying to surround me. I only have a two options left, charge at either one of the betas and hope that I am strong enough to throw them off balance or surrender. Without much thought, I decide that the latter is not an option.

The male beta is on the lanky side but looks to be the tallest out of them all. He would be easier to take out than the Alpha but still not easy. The female is a brunette and looks to be about my height but it's obvious that she's thicker than me and probably stronger. Charging at either of them would be risky but it's not like I have any other option. I make a decision and all three of them snarl when I charge at the female, the two of us rolling around in the dirt multiple times before either one of us regains our footing. She crouches down in front of me, baring her teeth in warning.

The curly haired beta and dark haired Alpha are quick approaching and I change my mind again. Taking flight would be a much better idea than fighting at this point. I turn and before my other foot can even touch the ground, her legs shoot out and knock me off balance. We fall to the ground once again, her on top of me this time, eyes the same topaz color as my own. I squirm underneath her as she tries to pin me down and when that doesn't work, flip over onto my stomach. Frustrated more than anything, I swing my elbow back hard and it connects hard with her face, a cracking sound following.

The brunette is momentarily distracted with cradling her nose and I scramble to my feet, only to be caught in the arms of yet another beta. This one is clearly older than the rest with dirty blonde hair and light green eyes. He looks down at me and grins before turning me so that my back is touching his chest. His arms go around my neck in warning and I squirm, wanting to break free from his hold. He tightens his arms around my neck and I stop my squirming, knowing now that he meant business. He guides me over to where the female is now standing, cracking her nose back into place.

Two more betas join us forming a circle, both of them males. One is a pale blonde and the other is tan with dark hair.

"Is that really necessary, Peter?" The tan beta asks the man who is holding me. I open my mouth to agree with him but close it when the Alpha male approaches. It's clear even to me that he is in charge.

"It is when she attacks one of us." He says, his voice deep and full of authority. Everything about him screams Alpha, down to his walk. For a moment I find myself marveling at how sure of himself he seems but that feeling quickly leaves me when he speaks again. "This is Hale Pack territory." It was now replaced with fear. After many moments of silence he speaks again. "You don't have anything to say for yourself?"

I stall by clearing my throat in an attempt to gain the confidence to speak. I had found myself in this position countless times before, trying to explain myself to those higher up in the pack hierarchy, this was just the first time I had pissed off an Alpha that wasn't my own. "I-I didn't mean to."

"Where's your pack?" His thick eyebrows furrowed as he waited for my answer. "I don't have one." I could tell he wasn't happy with that answer. "They kicked me out of the pack a few days ago and I came back here to find my brother." The man I know knew to be Peter snorted. "I wonder why." The female beta chimed in. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the both of them.

The Alpha's eyes squinted and he looked to be deep in thought, almost as if the gears in his brain were turning. "Who's your brother?" His question surprised me. I knew that Deaton was an emissary for a pack in Beacon Hills but he never told me anything beyond that, and considering that there was always news about multiple packs being here there was no telling which pack he helped. After I was bitten, we had both agreed to go our separate ways and for the most part pretended as if the other didn't exist.

"His name is Alan but I'm pretty sure he goes by Deaton." I could only hope that this information would work to my advantage instead of the opposite. "Let her go, Peter." Peter let go of me reluctantly, almost like he would have preferred to snap my neck.

"This is Cora," He pointed to the only female of the group, the brunette I had attacked earlier. "She's my sister." He motioned to Peter next. "My uncle Peter," He pointed to the curly haired beta next, the blonde, and the dark haired male next. "Issac, Jackson, and Scott." I nodded after each introduction to show him I understood.

"And I'm Derek." I swallowed in an attempt to soothe my throat before speaking again. "Marin." I told them simply. After the introductions were finished he extended his hand for me to take. I only stared at it. "I'll take you to him." Reaching out hesitantly, I placed my shaky hand into his.

**That's it for now, lovelies. I won't try to hound you all into writing reviews but I would appreciate it if a few of you let me know what you think about the story and if you think I should continue it. I have two stories floating around with Marin Morrell as a main character, this one and one that features Chris Argent as the main male lead. I'll probably focus on one more than the other so it's important that if you like this you let me know. If not, thanks for even taking the time to read it, I really do appreciate it. Until next time, good bye. **


	2. Reunited

**Summary: **Marin Morrell, the runt of her pack has recently been exiled. She unknowingly crosses over into Hale Pack territory and the Alpha, Derek Hale, isn't too happy about it. AU.

**~ Chapter One: Reunited ~**

The betas of the Hale Pack marched behind the omega and their Alpha with indifferent looks on all of their faces. None of them were too happy about having to escort the female wolf but none of them dared to speak up about it. A silent threat hung through the air courtesy of their Alpha, and all of them knew that if they stepped out of line, Derek wouldn't hesitate to put them back into place.

They were all surprised to hear Deaton had a sister and even more surprised that Derek knew about her when no one else did. None of them knew it but there were plenty of things Derek didn't tell them about. It wasn't because he didn't trust them with the information, it was just that after years of constant battle he figured they deserved to live a peaceful life with as little worry as possible. That didn't mean he left them completely in the dark, though. Derek did make a point of informing them of anything that could pose a potential threat as soon as he heard about it. They had tried ignoring their problems before and hoping they would disappear. Clearly, that didn't work out for them. Fortunately, they know knew better. With time the Hale Pack had grown wiser, as well as stronger.

While the other betas wondered about what other secrets Derek kept, Scott found himself hurt by the fact that Deaton hadn't told him that he wasn't an only child. He thought that at least once it would have come up in conversation. Scott looked at Deaton as a father figure so he knew things about him that most didn't. Scott knew Deaton cared about him, he wouldn't have wasted his time if he didn't. It just hurt like hell to think he didn't know the man as well as he thought.

None of them had bothered to speak after the introductions were done and the only sounds to be heard throughout the forest now were those of the animals, their heartbeats, and the leaves crunching underneath their feet. The silence was awkward and Marin didn't need to be told that it was because of her. The Hale Pack was clearly wary of strangers and she couldn't say she blamed them. It was the way packs were supposed to be, completely co-dependent on one another and loyal. An outsider that threatened that system should be treated as just that, an outsider. For a moment she found herself wishing she had ended up in a pack like this.

None of her previous pack members cared much about the family aspect. They only cared about building their power. Initially, she was bitten because the Alphas had thought that having an emissary that was also a wolf would be a good idea. When she didn't agree immediately, they took her by force. Being their adversary had worked for a while. She finally felt a part of something, like she mattered and they a person to handle the ins and outs of pack business. Eventually the newness of it all wore off and she found herself resenting them for taking away her choice.

Her previous pack, the Dennison's, only cared about adding to their power. That was one (among many) of the reasons she had been exiled. Marin wasn't at all competitive when it came to the pack, she was completely content with whatever position was given to her. If that just happened to be at the bottom then so be it. Killing a pack mate, killing _family_ to add to her own power didn't appease her. To them, her lack of 'ambition' wasn't an attractive quality in wolves and just to be sure she didn't rub off on any of the other wolves, the Alphas opted to kick her out rather than kill her.

After what felt like hours, Derek broke the deafening silence. "The house is only a few minutes away now." When Marin realized he was talking to her she became confused. "Deaton lives with you all?" He answered without hesitation. "No." Marin stopped in her tracks, her heart skipping a beat. The feeling of fear returned to her immediately. In truth it had never left, it had just been suppressed. Being on edge was now a constant thing for her. "I thought you were taking me to him." She decided that his reply would determine whether or not she would try to run again. Derek stopped himself and stared at her.

"He's at the clinic now, working. I was going to take you by there later after you've been... cleaned up. No offense, but I don't think the locals will take too well to you." When Derek was finished, she looked down and blushed. It was true, she was a mess. She was shoeless and her clothes were dirty from the past few days of travel. There was a slight tear in her shirt from when she and Cora had collided and she was sure her hair was covered in both dirt and leaves. "Okay." She told him but she didn't start walking again. "Okay?" He asked again in confirmation, his voice softer this time. She tore her eyes from his when his gaze became too intense. She didn't want him to think she was challenging him. "Okay."

* * *

When they reached the Hale residence, Marin was ushered in by two human girls, a brunette and the other a red head. Derek quickly explained the situation to them and told her they went by the names of Allison and Lydia. The girls fussed over her as they led her up the stairs, Derek following silently behind them. Allison prepared the bath while Lydia picked out things the girl would need, and Derek stood in the corner, supervising. At least that's what he seemed to be doing.

"Come on," Lydia told Marin without as much as a second glance over her shoulder. Marin followed obediently, all the while still fumbling with her fingers nervously. Lydia set a majority of the items down on the bathroom counter before turning to face Marin, rag in her hand. "There's a towel here and a change of clothes." The red head handed Marin the rag with a kind smile. "Come down when you're down." The girls left and Marin let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in.

It was nerve wracking interacting with them all because she wasn't sure how exactly any of them would react to her. Deciding to get into the water before it got cold, Marin stripped. She stared at herself in the mirror as she did so, slowly taking in her appearance. Her hair was as dirty and tangled as she had imagined, only she still dreaded having to wash it. She had lost weight during her journey across the state of California but she had expected as much. She didn't care much for raw animal meat but it was all she had access to at the time, so she tolerated it. Her eyes felt heavy and they surely looked the part. Marin thought she had never seen worse bags under anyone's eyes.

Slipping into the warm bath water, Marin smiled to herself. She had missed this. She leaned her top half down into the water to warm the rest of her up and sighed. Taking the rag Lydia had given her, Marin wasted no time in scrubbing her skin raw. After a few minutes, she was satisfied with the results and dipped her head under the water. She was a lot gentler with her hair than she had been with her body, lathering it in the shampoo Lydia had left. Marin had always loved her hair; the color of it, the texture of it, the _everything_ of it. And now, she once again loved the smell of it. And as superficial as it all was, Marin smiled for the first time in weeks, all because she had the chance to wash her hair.

She dried herself quickly, deciding that she had already spent too much time in their home as it was. She made a mental note to thank them all for their hospitality, Lydia especially. She descended the stairs one at a time when the smell of food assaulted her nose. She couldn't help the small moan that escaped her lips. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she could see the pack gathered around the dinner table, all scarfing down their food.

Marin had figured they were too kind of people to not feed her at all but she fully expected to be given the scraps, at most, after everyone else had eaten. That was the way the runt of the pack was treated. They ate last and suffered abuse from all of the other pack members. Marin couldn't help the surprised look that crossed her face when the human girl, Allison spoke up. "Here's the plate I set aside for you. I don't know your eating habits so I just put a little bit of everything on it, hopefully this is okay." She placed the plate in the girl's hand, curling her fingers around it as she urged her to take it.

"Thank you." Marin told her simply and with a nod she turned towards the door. "Where are you going?" The brunette asked, face scrunched up in a confused expression. Marin was sure her expression mirrored the girl's as she gestured behind her to the door. "Outside to eat." She hadn't been allowed to eat where the other wolves did either. "Nonsense." Allison insisted, motioning with her fingers for the girl to follow her. Allison lead Marin over to the table and convinced her to sit in the only free seat left, one that was clearly Allison's. The others stared at her with curiosity in their eyes but didn't speak up, orders from their Alpha.

Marin sat two spaces away from the Alpha who sat at one head of the table, Scott on her right, next to him. Jackson was on her left side, Lydia next to him. There was no chair at the other head of the table, where the Alpha female of the pack was supposed to sit. It was then that Marin realized they didn't actually have one. If Lydia was a wolf, Marin would have assumed she was the Alpha female because she had a certain superiority over the rest of them. She seemed to be the closest thing they had. Issac sat opposite of Lydia, Cora and then Peter to his left.

After a few minutes, the conversation was back in full swing, the wolves and humans talking quietly amongst each other. Marin ate silently, eyes on her plate the entire time to avoid looking anyone in the eyes. She found herself yet again amazed at their pack dynamic. Advising a pack was a lot different than being in one, in many ways. Before her transformation she had thought that she was fully capable of advising the packs but later learned that as a mere human she couldn't even begin to understand why it was so hard for the packs to trust her advice and why it wasn't smart of them to make decisions completely on their own. As a wolf she made different decisions then she would have before, gave different advice because her mind was clouded. The heightened senses made her notice things she hadn't before, made her paranoid. The urge to protect the pack also clouded her judgement. Being a wolf was a huge adjustment for anyone, and she now understood why.

"Are you ready?" Derek asked after she had finished eating. "Yes." He stood and she followed. Allison collected her plate, smiling kindly while the rest of them waved their goodbyes. She followed Derek out the front door of the pack home and he led her over to a black Camaro, motioning for her to get in. She did so silently. Her eyes focused on the scenery as they sped through the woods, the different shades of green and brown blending together. She remembered having to move all of the way from Canada to California after her mother's death in her early teens to live with Alan, his mother and their father.

Living with them wasn't a horrible experience but it wasn't pleasant either. She and Alan's father, Charles, had become a volatile man in his later years, a result of having been attacked by the previous pack he had advised. Charles Deaton wore four angry pink scars on the right side of his face as proof. He hated the scars and often drank to forget his memories of being mauled, and as a result often lashed out at them. Alan's mother, Gloria, had treated her well but they had never really connected. It was partly because Marin had just lost her mother and wasn't ready to connect with anyone at that point and it was partly because Gloria resented her for even existing. She and Charles had broken up multiple times over the years and during one of those times he had gone and found solace in Marin's mother.

Alan was the model child, made perfect grades and never got in trouble, Marin wasn't. Her mother had always told her that those things didn't matter much to her as long as she tried her hardest, whereas, Charles obsessed over being perfect. He wanted everyone to believe they were this happy family when in reality they barely tolerated one another. Marin was angry with her father for putting so much pressure on her, especially after everything she had been through with her mother, and angry with Alan for being able to handle it. It became a hobby of theirs to try to outdo the other. More often than not, Alan succeeded and that put an even bigger strain on their relationship. Yet and still, he was the one she ran to when she got into trouble.

"You don't talk much do you?" Derek asked, taking a moment to glance at her before diverting his attention to driving. Marin considered his question for a moment. The truth was that she had been quite the chatterbox in her earlier years, when she had her mother to listen to her. Neither Charles nor Gloria cared to hear about her opinions on things, they just wanted to see results. Much like the Denninson pack had. "I talk when I need to."

* * *

They arrived at the animal clinic fifteen minutes later, Derek once again taking the lead. The sign on the door was flipped to say closed to keep the locals from coming in during their reunion, Marin assumed. The animals went crazy as the two werewolves entered and Marin found it amusing that the animals served as an alarm of sorts. They went silent after a moment and Deaton emerged from the back. His expression remained neutral and for a moment Marin wasn't sure he would welcome her with open arms.

It was unreal for Marin, seeing her older brother again. She felt almost as if she was seeing a different person, the grey hairs in his beard an obvious indicator that life had been quite unkind to him as well. She didn't think she had ever seen the man less put together. He wore the same plaid button downs he always had but something had changed. It felt unreal to Deaton as well, even though he had been expecting to see her. She was now clean, courtesy of the Hale Pack, but from the look in her eyes that she hadn't been that way in awhile. Her face was bare, her drying hair a mess of curls that framed her face. Alan saw the thirteen year old little sister he had comforted after her mother's death. Marin sprung forward to gather her brother in a hug, burying her face in his shoulder. She felt like _that_ little girl again and couldn't help the sobs that wracked her body. It had been years since she last cried, since she had allowed herself to.

**Let me know what you think, and if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, let me know. I was wondering if you would prefer if I picked up right here for the next chapter or skipped some time (probably two weeks)? I was just asking because I know sometimes it bothers me when stories skip at the beginning of the story. Either way, next chapter we'll learn more about what Derek and company have been up to over the years.**


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